SOUTH Africa and Brazil have completed preparatory talks on trade cooperation that could lead to a free trade agreement between countries of southern Africa and South America “in a matter of years”, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said on Thursday. Addressing the media after a meeting with visiting Brazilian Foreign Minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia, Erwin said the talks are the first step in the process of expanding and diversifying trade links between the two regions. Lampreia, in South Africa on a three-day visit, also met with President Thabo Mbeki and Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.